John Charcol ramping up its self-employed adviser division

London brokerage John Charcol is looking to ramp up its self-employed division in 2013 to aid as a retention tool and a way of bringing new blood into the business.

Currently the brokerage, which is part of Towergate Financial Group, has an employed arm made up of 35 advisers and its self-employed arm has around 28 advisers.

But it is looking to boost its overall number of advisers by at least 20 over the next 12 months, especially its self-employed division. Switching from being an employed adviser to a self-employed advisers is currently an option after advisers have spent 12 months with the firm.

It is now halving the amount of time new advisers need to have spent with its employed division before switching to self-employed to six months. It is also introducing a supported self-employed option.

John Charcol’s self-employed advisers keep between 70 per cent and 85 per cent of their commission. While compliance and IT are dealt with by the brokerage, the advisers are independent with regards to sourcing cases and support.

The supported self-employed offering will have a 50/50 commission split, but advisers will also be provided with 30 leads a month and additional support.

Walter Avrili, managing director of John Charcol, says: “It won’t be for every adviser. But for those that want the flexibility of being self-employed but with the backing and brand that John Charcol and our parent group Towergate offer, it’s an option we want to promote.”

While it has primarily been designed as a retention tool for existing consultants, it will also be targeted at graduate trainees.